Heat sealable container



April 14., 1964 A. E. SPROSTY 3,128,936

HEAT SEALABLE CONTAINER Filed Sept. 26, 1962 IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 3,128,936 HEAT SEALABLE CONTAINER Allan E. Sprosty, 21570 Erie Road, Rocky River, Ohio Filed Sept. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 226,423 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-62) The present invention is directed to a heat sealable container and, more particularly, to a foldable extensible bag-like container that is easily and effectively sealed by means of a novel end closure provided on the end walls thereof adjacent the end of the container into which the products to be disposed therein are inserted.

Heretofore, in sealably bags such as for example in paper or similar prefabricated bags especially adapted for use in produce stores and the like, said bags have usually been closed by using cord or a separate adhesive coated strip to hold the closed folds of the open end shut. As will be apparent, the closing of such a container is very time consuming and in modern day supermarket outlets such delays resulting thereby decidely reduces the number of people that can be accommodated.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved prefabricated sealable bag-like container that is adapted for quick and convenient closing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bag-like container that can be quickly and easily heat sealed and, yet, one which can be readily reopened, when desired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for sealing the top of a bag-like container which has a pair of opposed panels of about equal size and a pair of foldable connecting side walls therebetween, the sealing means incorporating the use of a pair of slots formed in the side walls and pre-arranged areas of adhesive material located on said side walls opposite said slots and on said panels, at least one slot and one adhesive area on each side of said container cooperating to seal the infolded sides to the bag panel adjacent thereto to thereby provide an effective closure for said container without the use of string, separate gum tape, etc.

Other objects will be apparent from the specification that follows, the appended claims and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel heat sealable bag-like container of the present invention illustrating the same in its open position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1 in its closed position;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 indicated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 indicated in FIG. 2.

The present invention provides a novel foldable distensible bag 1 that is preferably made of paper or like material and of the same type commonly used in produce stores for packaging bulk foods such as potatoes. The bag 1 is adapted for quick and easy sealing by the use of heat. Yet, the seal is secured and effective, and may be easily ruptured for reopening said bag when desired.

The bag 1 has a pair of opposed panels 5 and 6 of about the same size and shape and a pair of foldable side walls 8 and 9 connecting with said panels to form a tube. The bottom end of the tube is folded over in any suitable manner to provide bottom wall 10 effective to permanently close said one end of the bag.

The foldable side wall 8 has a fold line 8a extending longitudinally centrally therealong and which divides said side wall into two equal parts and 16. The opposite side wall 9 also has a similar longitudinal fold Patented Apr. 14, 1964 line 9a that divides said wall into two equal wall parts 19 and 20.

As utilized with the disclosed embodiment of container, the sealing means of the present invention incorporates a pair of slots 24 and 25 one of which is provided in each of the wall parts 16 and 20 of the side walls 8 and 9, slot 24 being formed centrally in the near upper marginal portion of side wall part 16 and slot 25 being similarly formed in the upper marginal portion of side wall part 20. As seen in FIG. 1, slots 24 and 25 are oval in their instant configuration.

Areas of adhesive are utilized in conjunction with said slots to constitute the heat sealable closure of the present invention. For this purpose, a spot 28 of a suitable heat sealable adhesive material is deposited on the outer surface of the side wall part 15 adjacent to and horizontally aligned with the slot 24 on wall part 16 so that when the top of the bag 1 is folded shut to its FIG. 4 position and heat is applied thereto by any suitable means, the adhesive material 28 projects through slot 24 and adhesively engages the inner surface 6a of panel 6 adjacent side wall 8 to thereby retain said side wall and panel in adhesive engagement.

In like manner, side wall part 19 is intended to be sealed to the inner surface 62' of panel 6 by means of a spot 29 of heat sealable adhesive material that is deposited on said wall part 19 adjacent to and in alignment with slot 25, through which said adhesive projects to engage said panel inner surface upon folding said bag to its FIG. 4 position.

As also seen in the drawings, adhesive areas as are depicted as a pair of spots 30 and 31 of heat sealable adhesive material is deposited on the upper margin of panel 5, spot 30 being disposed generally near the upper left hand corner of panel 5 and spot 31 being deposited near the upper right hand corner of panel 5. These spots 31) and 31, when the side walls 8 and 9 are infolded and the panels 5 and 6 are brought together and heat applied thereto, seal the panel 5 to the inner surface of the side walls 8 and 9. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner surface 15a of side wall part 15 is tightly sealed to panel 5 by the adhesive spot 30. In a similar manner, the inner surface of side wall part 19 is also firmly secured to the panel 5 by means of the adhesive material area as at 31.

It generally is also advantageous to provide panel 5 with a central adhesive area such as spot 33 of heat seal able adhesive material that is deposited between spots 30 and 31 to seal the inner surface of panel 5 to panel 6 when the bag top is folded shut and subjected to heat in a conventional heat sealing operation.

The heat sealing of the novel bag of the present invention can be accomplished inexpensively and with high speed. Heat sealable adhesive materials such as resins and latexes in emulsion-lacquer form or in hot melt form may be used as the adhesive spotting material by merely applying the same in fluid condition to the bag and then dried or solidified to create a film of material that will quickly provide a strong adhesive bond when heated. A preferred adhesive is a solid polyester sealing material which can be heated to form a liquid that is readily applied to the paper bag to form the deposits of adhesive material such as spots 28, 29, 30, 31 and 33.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of heat sealable container embodying the present invention, it is apparent that the inventive concepts thereof are susceptible to various modifications, arrangements and combinations of parts without departing from the scope of the same as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A folded distensible bag having a generally rectangular cross section when opened and comprising a pair of opposed panels of about the same size and shape and a a pair of side walls connecting said panels, the side walls being infolded when the bag is flat and of about the same size and shape, closure means for the top of said bag comprising a pair of slots, one slot located in the upper margin of each of the side walls near a corner thereof adjacent to a common panel, and a pair of spots of heat sealable adhesive material located in the upper margin of the side walls, each spot, being disposed near a corner of the side wall and aligned with the slot therein whereby the spot is superimposed on the slot when the top of the bag is folded and closed whereby the spot adheres to said common panel, and there being provided on 'the panel common to said adhesive spots a second pair of adhesive spots in the upper margin near opposed corners thereof for sealing the panel to the inner surface of the infolded sides.

2. A bag having a generally rectangular cross section when open and comprising a pair of opposed panels about the same size and shape and a pair of side walls foldable between said panels, a bottom wall connecting said panels and side walls thereby forming a closed bottom for said bag, the side walls being infolded when the bag is flat, closure means for the top of said bag comprising a pair of slots, one slot located in the upper margin of each of the side walls near a corner thereof adjacent to a common panel, a pair of spots of heat scalable adhesive material located in the upper margin of each of the side walls, each spot being disposed near a corner of the side wall and aligned with the slot therein whereby the spot is superimposed in the slot when the top of the bag is folded and when the top is closed the spot adheres to the common panel, there being provided on the common panel a second pair of adhesive spots in the upper margin near opposed corners thereof for sealing the panel to the inner surface of the infolded sides, and a third adhesive spot located between the adhesive spots on the panel for adhering to its opposed panel when the top of the bag is closed, and each of said spots being generally ovular in outline.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

2. A BAG HAVING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION WHEN OPEN AND COMPRISING A PAIR OF OPPOSED PANELS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AND A PAIR OF SIDE WALLS FOLDABLE BETWEEN SAID PANELS, A BOTTOM WALL CONNECTING SAID PANELS AND SIDE WALLS THEREBY FORMING A CLOSED BOTTOM FOR SAID BAG, THE SIDE WALLS BEING INFOLDED WHEN THE BAG IS FLAT, CLOSURE MEANS FOR THE TOP OF SAID BAG COMPRISING A PAIR OF SLOTS, ONE SLOT LOCATED IN THE UPPER MARGIN OF EACH OF THE SIDE WALLS NEAR A CORNER THEREOF ADJACENT TO A COMMON PANEL, A PAIR OF SPOTS OF HEAT SEALABLE ADHESIVE MATERIAL LOCATED IN THE UPPER MARGIN OF EACH OF THE SIDE WALLS, EACH SPOT BEING DISPOSED NEAR A CORNER OF THE SIDE WALL AND ALIGNED WITH THE SLOT THEREIN WHEREBY THE SPOT IS SUPERIMPOSED IN THE SLOT WHEN THE TOP OF THE BAG IS FOLDED AND WHEN THE TOP IS CLOSED THE SPOT ADHERES TO THE COMMON PANEL, THERE BEING PROVIDED ON THE COMMON PANEL A SECOND PAIR OF ADHESIVE SPOTS IN THE UPPER MARGIN NEAR OPPOSED CORNERS THEREOF FOR SEALING THE PANEL TO 